2 Samuel 6

2 Samuel 6:1

E. The Ark Brought to Jerusalem (Chap. 6)The events in chapter 6 did not take place immediately after those recorded in chapter 5. Second Samuel does not always follow a strict chronological order. 6:1-7 The last time we read about the ark of God was in 1Sa_7:1-2. It had been sent back by the Philistines and was placed in the house of Abinadab in Kirjath Jearim. Many years passed. Then David decided to bring it to Jerusalem, in order that the city might be the religious as well as the political capital. So he took thirty thousand . . . men . . . of Israel to Baale Judah (the same as Kirjath Jearim) to get it. God had instructed that the ark was to be carried on poles, supported on the shoulders of the Kohathites (Num_7:9).

Instead, David made a new cart and with great jubilation brought . . . the ark . . . to the threshing floor of Nachon (called Chidon in 1Ch_13:9). There the oxen stumbled, and the ark was in danger of falling off the cart. So Uzzah, a son of Abinadab, steadied the ark with his hand. Since it was forbidden for even the priests to touch the ark (Num_4:15), Uzzah was instantly struck dead by the Lord. It has frequently been asked why God struck Uzzah for touching the ark when the Philistines often touched it without being destroyed. The answer seems to be that “the nearer a man is to God, the more solemnly and speedily he will be judged for any evil.” Judgment must begin at the house of God. Was God’s action too severe? We feel free to judge God because we lack a sense of His awesome holiness and majesty. The Ark was as close to a visible representation of God Himself as men would see until Jesus. Uzzah disregarded this. His death was a lasting lesson to the Israelites to take seriously the glory of their God. Do our language and our actions demonstrate that we mean it when we pray “Hallowed be Thy Name”? (Daily Notes of the Scripture Union). 6:8-11 David protested to the LORD against this solemn judgment and temporarily abandoned his plan to bring the ark . . . into the City. Rather, he had it placed in the house of Obed-Edom, probably near Jerusalem. The LORD greatly blessed the household of Obed-Edom during the three months . . . the ark was in his house. 6:12-15 Hearing of this blessing, King David decided to bring the ark of God to Jerusalem. The account in 1Ch_15:13-15 tells us that during these three months David investigated the Scriptures to see how the ark was to be transported. The new cart was abandoned and the Levites carried the ark on their shoulders. After the bearers moved forward cautiously for six paces to make sure the Lord wasn’t still displeased, David sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. Then, with dancing in the streets, the ark was brought to a temporary tent in the City of David. (It is likely that Psalms 68 was written at this time.) The king himself was so elated that he danced before the LORD with all his might. David was wearing a linen ephod instead of his customary royal clothes. 6:16-23 His wife, Michal, looked through a window and saw him dressed in an ephod, acting in a manner which she considered unworthy of a king. When he returned home, she falsely accused him of indecently dancing in public. (“Uncovering” in verse 20 must be understood in the light of verse 14.) He answered that his dancing was an expression of his joy in the Lord and intimated that he did not intend to stifle his enthusiasm for the things of God. He would let himself be even more despised by men and humble in his own sight, but he would be held in honor by the “slave girls” Michal had spoken of. Because of her critical attitude, Michal suffered the reproach of bearing no children to the day of her death. This is a needed reminder that a critical spirit stifles fruitfulness.